In the round-up: Daniel Ricciardo says he isn’t concerned about not receiving equal treatment compared to Sebastian Vettel if he joins Red Bull next year.
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Ricciardo: I am perfect fit for Red Bull (The Telegraph)
“I guess I only know what you guys know. Malaysia this year, Silverstone a couple of years ago. But it’s not something that I’m concerned with. From what I hear the team is very much interested in equality.”
The true cost of Formula 1 (Autosport, subscription required)
A fascinating study of F1 team finances by Autosport’s Dieter Rencken puts Ferrari as the richest team in the sport with an annual budget of 250m, boosted by a generous subsidy from FOM due to Ferrari’s status and heritage. Minnows Marussia get by on 51m by comparison including 6m from FOM (7.5% of what Ferrari receive) which will disappear at the end of this year as they currently have no commercial deal with the sport.
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Comment of the day
Thoughts on how DRS will change next year from Matt Somerfield:
We all know that the rules are changing significantly for next year and although most might not like it I’d suggest there will be perhaps one or two teams that will run away with the title as they simply got it right whilst others didn’t.
In terms of DRS the 50mm aperture currently allowed whilst the top flap is active will be increased to 60mm as the height of the rear wing will be increased by 20mm overall. Drag will undoubtedly be a significant factor for 2014 as more cooling should be a standard requirement for the teams and cooling apertures equals drag.
Moreover Pirelli will likely be very conservative with their initial tyre designs knowing the impact the additional torque will have on the construction of the tyre.
Matt Somerfield (@SomersF1)
From the forum
- Baltimore’s notorious chicane is already causing problems for this weekend’s IndyCar and ALMS events
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On this day in F1
The short, rough, four-turn Zeltweg airfield track hosted the non-championship Austrian Grand Prix 50 years ago today as a precursor to its first appearance on the world championship schedule the following year.
Innes Ireland was leading convincingly when his Lotus’s BRM engine died 17 laps from home. That handed victory to Jack Brabham by the astonishing margin of five laps over Tony Settember’s Scirocco and Carel Godin de Beaufort’s Porsche.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
1st September 2013, 1:12
Maybe for the team, but not for the car.
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st September 2013, 1:24
Lucky Mark Webber (off track) no doubt will be watching MotoGP at Silverstone from one of the many Red Bull sponsored teams pit facilities, I didn’t know he was a fan but it makes sense.
Traverse (@)
1st September 2013, 2:09
I absolutely love MotoGP but it’s not the same without Casey Stoner. :'(
Marquez is doing a sterling job and has helped to alleviate the void, but, to see a rider in his prime leave a sport is beyond disappointing.
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st September 2013, 3:26
Crutchlow is providing the underdog team excitment at the moment, but yes, sad to see Casey walk, but then MotoGP riders have a lot more to lose than F1 drivers do now.
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st September 2013, 14:26
Both Moto2 and MotoGP were great races, if only F1 could be so good.
Albedo
1st September 2013, 1:35
On the picture he’s laughing at the title of this article.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
1st September 2013, 2:04
From what I see the team is very much interested in PR
Traverse (@)
1st September 2013, 2:16
From what I see the team is very much interested in success, and as a result have achieved it in a crushing fashion over the past few years. Fact is, whether Red Bull choose Ricciardo or Raikkonen, they will be successful. They don’t need any advice regarding the running of their team, nor do they have to justify their decisions because (as Raikkonen would say), they know what they’re doing! :)
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
1st September 2013, 2:43
@hellotraverse
I think you have completely missed the point, every team is interested in success believe me even Marussia or Caterham are interested in winning races and world championships (if they can of course), i don’t know why you have jumped to conclusions about how successful the team will be or about me giving them advise about their drivers line up (maybe it has something to do with my nickname or avatar or both of them)
The fact is that Red Bull has never been treating their drivers equally (and i’m not against it BTW and i’m not saying that Seb didn’t deserve this kind of preferential treatment over his teammate) but they are always denying this something which they are not obliged to do since they are free to run their business the way they like and now Ricciardo who will be very soon promoted to the first team is doing the same thing and i hope that he will say the same words he is saying now when they will told him to hold the gap to Vettel in his first opportunity to beat him on the track
BTW what makes you so sure about that ???? remember regulation change next year will reduce the influence of aerodynamics which are Red Bull’s main strength , i know that they can still win championships in the next years because their partnership with Renault has been proved to be a wining pair but 2014 is the unknown for every team and you said Fact is
Traverse (@)
1st September 2013, 3:07
My point is Red Bull don’t have to justify their team strategy, i.e whether they have a No.1 driver policy or not. The reason why they publicly state that they don’t have a No.1 driver is because people like you continually insist that they do (despite the fact that Webber has been treated equally), so if RBR don’t make a concerted effort to rectify the misinformation, people will assume that the No.1 driver claim is correct.
You mention that you hope RBR don’t tell Ricciardo to hold position when he has an opportunity to beat Vettel, but you don’t mention that RBR gave Webber preferential treatment this season by ordering Vettel to “hold position”.
Quite frankly, if Ricciado is given an order to hold position, hopefully he’ll show the same guts and fortitude that Vettel did and refuse to be a lackey, after all, your destiny is in your own hands, which is something that Vettel realises and has taken full responsibility for. Ricciardo could learn a lot from The Vetinator.
Granted I overstated the possibility of future success given that we know little about how the teams will cope with the new regs. I shouldn’t have said “will be successful”. Rather, there is no obvious reason (at least to me) as to why RBR can’t continue in a positive trajectory.
Todfod (@todfod)
1st September 2013, 8:16
You cannot honestly beleive that.
Sebastian gets the car designed around his driving style… that is something that is fairly obvious since the EBD days. On days where Seb lost his front wing, he could always borrow his teammates. If there was a rift in the team, its always been obvious who the team favours.
I think your statements show that Red Bull is at least convincing a couple of f1 fans that they have driver equality…. but the rest us aren’t buying it.
HK (@me4me)
1st September 2013, 8:58
@todfod
Obviosly the lead driver in each team has a say on how the fine details of the car are designed to fit the driver. But it hasn’t always gone Vettels way. Remember the first races in 2012, where he had to adjust to the non-EBD RB8, and the car actually suited Webber much better? He then got on with it, and pretty much destroyed Webber over the season. A driver should always adapt. Thats what Vettel did, and thats what RB expacted from him. I don’t Believe any of their drivers can demand the car to be designed solely to their liking.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
1st September 2013, 9:07
No, he did not adapt magically . The car was slowly updated to be better for him . After they introduced the parts at Singapore in 2012 , he was unstoppable .
It’s very simple :
The team give everything to vettel
Vettel gives his best to the team and wins everything
Anything more than that is just speculation .
Todfod (@todfod)
1st September 2013, 9:19
@me4me
Why didn’t they build the car more to Webber’s liking after the start of the 2012 season?
Its simple… because Seb is their #1 driver and they have more faith in him delivering the title. Thats not really driver equality
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
1st September 2013, 10:42
@todfod I don’t agree that they made the car specifically to Seb’s liking, rather they made it faster. There is no denying the car was quicker in Singapore than it had been for most of the season (barring a couple of races such as Valencia).
Sure, Vettel may get a hand in how the car is generally adapted but speed is obviously the primary concern, not how it suits Vettel.
Traverse (@)
1st September 2013, 15:17
I think that people are confusing equal treatment with equal talent. People assume that if two drivers are treated equally within a team, that automatically guarantees that both drivers will achieve equal results – if Vet wins 6 races in a season, that means Web must also win 6 otherwise there’s something fishy going on. Vettel destroys Webber week in week out, so people assume that he must receive preferential treatment, but that isn’t the case. The reason for Vettel’s dominance over Webber is simple – Vettel is a more naturally gifted (his temperament and ability to deal with pressure) and superior racing driver (he rarely puts a foot wrong). Webber on the other hand can’t even achieve a half decent start to the race, he could start on pole and by the first corner be sat in 6th position; Webber consistently has terrible starts due to his inferior ability.
So, RBR absolutely treat their drivers equally, but Vettel’s beast like abilities make it appear (to mere mortals at least) as though he’s got an unfair advantage, which is why people incorrectly jump to the ‘No.1 driver’ conclusion.
Ironically, claiming that RBR have a No.1 driver policy is actually a compliment to Vettel. :)
Todfod (@todfod)
1st September 2013, 16:35
I’m the 1st to admit that Vettel is superior to Webber in every aspect of this sport… but does Vettel get that little extra support from his team? Most definitely
How else would you explain Silverstone 2010? Would you call that driver equality?
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
1st September 2013, 18:14
Tell me,Todford, would you consider Malaysia 2013 an example of “driver equality” within Mercedes?
Mercedes claims that they treat their drivers equally. Rather obviously, they don’t. But the people who claim to be indignant at Red Bull’s “dishonesty” never seem very concerned with identical (or greater) dishonesty on the part of other teams. Why is that?
Todfod (@todfod)
2nd September 2013, 8:06
@jonsan
Well.. we aren’t talking about Mercedes are we? I never said Mercedes was driver equality either, nor did I say Ferrari was all about driver equality.
Red Bull constantly harp on about driver equality, and have said its their racing philosophy. The fact is that they should just keep quiet about it instead of trying to convince the world with their bs.
Traverse (@)
2nd September 2013, 11:04
@todfod
They Would keep quiet if Webber stopped bleating on about how unfairly he is treated. The bs at RBR emanates from Webber.
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
1st September 2013, 18:08
The assumption there seems to be that there is something very unique about Seb’s driving style and that a car “designed around” it will pose a difficult challenge to other drivers. That assumption is, to be polite about it, unproven.
It’s not at all obvious. Neither driver has ever been punished for ignoring team orders, in spite of Mark’s numerous self-pitying suggestions to the contrary. If Red Bull really had the degree of favoritism towards Vettel which you (and Mark) claim they do, then Webber would have been sacked years ago.
hugomac (@hugomac)
1st September 2013, 2:17
The most Non-Equality team in the history of F1……
aka_robyn
1st September 2013, 2:25
I can tell from that comment that you are a real student of the history of F1.
celeste (@celeste)
1st September 2013, 2:38
sarcasm win!
David-A (@david-a)
1st September 2013, 2:28
@hugomac – In terms of the age and ability of the current pair of drivers, maybe.
celeste (@celeste)
1st September 2013, 2:38
Smart boy that Daniel
RogerD
1st September 2013, 12:03
He’s smart because he’s not buying into the whole “RBR favouritism” thing before he’s even officially got the drive.
I mean seriously what else would he say?? “Yeah, they’ve screwed Mark over for years and I’m looking forward to more of the same. Can’t wait!!!”
Makana (@makana)
1st September 2013, 2:58
Looking forward to seeing Daniel in RBR, even though he’s not a big name (so far) and I really hope he doesn’t get sucked into the political vacuum too early… not sure if Mark filled his head with all sorts of conspiracy nonsense… that will do him no good whatsoever.
Traverse (@)
1st September 2013, 3:14
Ricciardo must be the happiest driver in F1 – he never stops smiling! It’s actually quite infectious.
Todfod (@todfod)
1st September 2013, 16:36
Watch that smile turn upside down next year.
Traverse (@)
2nd September 2013, 13:10
Ricciardo will still be smiling next year…(at least when he looks at his bank statements).
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st September 2013, 3:21
@montreal95, 50 years ago today , coincidentally a perfect illustration of what could happen when 1 or 2 cars blitzed the field, albeit with few top teams competing.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
1st September 2013, 9:52
@hohum Actually it’s not a perfect example because it was a non-championship race on a track which, from what I read about it was awful in every way(not to mention extremely short). But I see your point :)
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
1st September 2013, 6:14
” From what I hear the team is very much interested in equality.”
Wait till you start beating him , then you will know .
I hope what Ricciardo says is right though . If he can qualify better than Vettel and then fight for position it will be interesting next year . Of course vettel always is better and tends to have an upper finger ( hand ) .
Todfod (@todfod)
1st September 2013, 8:22
If he can qualify better than Vettel
Thats one of the biggest IFs I’ve ever seen.
I have a feeling Ricciardo might out qualify Seb like 3-4 times in the entire season.
Am I the only guy here who thinks Red Bull has put one of the least exciting candidates to drive alongside Seb. I dont see this inter team battle being any more competitive than battle between Massa and ALonso at Ferrari
David-A (@david-a)
1st September 2013, 9:03
@todfod Of course, you’re not alone. I wanted Kimi to go there. I think he would have been competitive, worthy of some more wins and title challenges, and is a cool enough customer to co-exist with Vettel.
Todfod (@todfod)
1st September 2013, 9:25
Kimi would have been great .. and lets face it.. nothing would be more exciting than Vettel and Alonso in the same team (as hypothetical as it is)
But I thought there are much more interesting drivers to pair alongside Vettel – Hulkenberg, Di Resta, Sutil, Button, Bianchi.
Hamilton and Rosberg have a great future at Mercedes, so I wont include them in the list.
Personally, I think Ricciardo is no better than Buemi. Above average qualifier and below average racer
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
1st September 2013, 9:09
Kimi would have been the dream combo :( . However , it’s time to wake up to reality and pinch yourself and hope it’s not a dream in a dream.
RogerD
1st September 2013, 12:13
RBR are entirely uninterested in exciting drivers and inter-team battles – F1 isn’t the WWE. RBR exist only to win races and world championships (preferably making a profit doing so) and they’ll pick a driving team that they think gives them the best chance of doing exactly that.
Boring? Probably, but this is business.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
1st September 2013, 10:50
@todfod I agree, I would’ve preferred Räikkönen also. But I think we ought to give Ricciardo a shot should they sign him before encombering him with the number two driver label.
I don’t expect him to beat Vettel. But then again, I didn’t expect Räikkönen to beat Vettel. So I’m looking for him to definitely improve as the season progresses to the extent where he’s challenging Vettel for wins and poles in particular on a fairly regular basis. If he manages that, I think he can start 2015 off on the right foot and hopefully mount a sustained challenge to justify his position there as Räikkönen inevitably would.
So for Red Bull’s sake, I hope he’s good (if of course they’ve signed him).
Robbie
3rd September 2013, 21:48
I have no issue with DR, but I know that KR would have meant 2 proven WDC roosters on a top team which I think should always be the hope for F1 fans for what they tout as the pinnacle of racing. KR would definitely have taken the challenge to SV, even if SV still bettered him. I don’t feel DR will take it to SV in the same way, and may be a psychological number 2 if nothing else. Hope I’m wrong, but it’s just that with this signing of DR I(we) now have to see it to believe it if he can and will and will be allowed to take the fight to SV, whereas with KR we know what we would have been in for. Two gladiators.
BJ (@beejis60)
1st September 2013, 7:18
I really like the street circuits the indy cars race on, but they look harsh and crazy bumpy. I think it would be great to see F1 cars on these courses.
ken (@kenke)
1st September 2013, 7:44
Just another H fretzen,much was expected,but could not maintain a championship challenge
Aussie F1
2nd September 2013, 3:11
wow talk about delivering the verdict before the trial! By all means make this judgement next year if you still feel the same way, but to say that now is a bit presumptuous and also a little bit silly as a result.
ken (@kenke)
3rd September 2013, 21:49
i’m not being posthumous,i’m just being realistic about what will happen come 2014, vettel has the car built around him by red bull,does 2010,2011,2012 and soon to be 2013 champ ring a bell,of course i believe in Ricardo’s potential but expect “Webbers Misfortunes”to happen to ricardo
Red Andy (@red-andy)
1st September 2013, 7:52
Red Bull are interested in equality in the same way I’m interested in religion.
I’m interested in the way it works, and know it’s good for other people, but I wouldn’t want it for myself.
Alex (@korbendallas)
1st September 2013, 8:18
I’d love to read that Autosport article. I wonder what Ferrari’s performance would be like if they didn’t get all that extra money and special treatment from FOM. Yes, they’ve been in the sport a the longest and have the most wins, but they aren’t short of cash and it’s not like they’re going to leave formula one if their subsidy is cut – I think the Ferrari brand probably needs F1 more than the F1 brand needs Ferrari.
Meanwhile, newer teams and those who don’t do so well are being progressively squeezed. They don’t get a lot of TV exposure which hurts their sponsorship deals, so they are forced to try to compete on a much lower budget. Meanwhile Ferrari gets first dibs on a huge slice of the pie (a minimum of US$62.2m per year), and also apparently a veto on the tech regs.
RBR and McLaren also share in considerably more money than the rest of the paddock by virtue of their finishing positions in 2008-11 (along with Ferrari – detailed in the link above). It would be nice to see how the field would look if the prize money was more equitably distributed, and the engineers from the smaller teams had a bigger budget to play with.
Gordon (@)
2nd September 2013, 15:28
It’s ridiculous how the smaller teams and even Williams for that matter, don’t get much airtime during the races! Let alone qualifying.
Libellula (@ladyf1fanatic)
1st September 2013, 8:31
Good luck Daniel Ricciardo, brightest smile ever in F1!
I have something else on my mind, that comment of the day from Matt Somerfield got me worried… Seriously, 2014 better be a year of ‘revolution’
Don’t kill my hopes, I expect great things.
TMF (@)
1st September 2013, 8:58
no matter who joins RBR for next year – it will be no different to what we see at McLaren or Mercedes today in terms of driver equality. imo, Mark had the same problem as Alonso had in 2007. After dominating all his teammates before – a kid comes along and beats him and he couldn’t cope with it. But glad that he didn’t turn too bitter and that I’ll see him next year in the WEC.
A new driver line-up will reset the politics at RBR and clear the air. If it is RIC who joins VET then I think that RBR will have 1 less problem as both seem to be rather uncomplicated. And hopefully the ridiculous conspiracy theories we have to endure will disappear too.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st September 2013, 9:17
I don’t think Alonso’s problem was that he was being beaten by someone younger than him. Rather, the issue seemed to be that he went to McLaren with certain expectations about his status within the team, but then he felt McLaren weren’t supporting him when Hamilton exceeded their expectations. If anybody was to blame for this turn of events, it was Flavio Briatore. Briatore only ever ran a second car because he had to, and pretty much gave Alonso carte blanche to do as he liked. This probably left Alonso with some funny ideas about how a team is supposed to be run.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st September 2013, 9:22
As for the “ridiculous conspiracy theories” at Red Bull, remember that Ricciardo has more in common with Vettel than Webber in that he, like Vettel, was supported by Red Bull throughout the junior stage of his career. It’s in Red Bull’s interests to treat Ricciardo more equally than they did Webber, because it will make the Young Driver Program look like less of an expensive waste if time than it actually is, and will give the team ammunition to use against their critics who claim they unfairly favour Vettel.
TMF (@)
1st September 2013, 14:09
@prisoner-monkeys Not sure what you’re getting at but Mark was very vocal on the few occasions of inequality and I think if they’d permanently disadvantage him we’d hear about it (there is no smoke and certainly no fire).
And why is it that the same people, who think a team would be so stupid to sabotage their number 2, that they are all over RB and not Mercedes – where Rosberg had 3 DNFs a bad call in qualifying and a team order against him?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
1st September 2013, 11:33
@prisoner-monkeys I disagree: If anyone is to blame it’s Alonso for presuming that the team who pitted Lauda against Prost, Prost against Rosberg and Prost against Senna, were going to suddenly give him preferential treatment over a driver who, on paper, he should easily have had the beating of.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
1st September 2013, 14:37
@keithcollantine interesting coincidence that all of those partnerships you’ve mentioned involve Prost!
anon
1st September 2013, 18:07
He was the best driver of his era winning 4 titles and prepared to race alongside strong teammates, while other drivers like Senna won only 3 titles despite having weaker teammates (Prost outscored him in 1988 and would have won 5 titles to Senna’s 2 if not for the bogus points system instituted at that time)
puneeth Bharath (@puneethvb)
1st September 2013, 16:46
Alonso did nt cover himself exactly in glory during his Mclaren days and even being a fan of Alonso could nt stomach some of the things he did ,like the qualifying in Hungary… But we have always heard the story from Mclaren and Ron Dennis post 2007 and Alonso has pretty muck kept quiet about it… I always had the feeling that there is much more to the story than what we have actually heard(maybe Alonso was allowed to leave Mclaren on condition that he would nt talk about the 2007 issues).. On one side Mclaren have had great driver pairings many a times(which is fantastic for the fans) and on the other side many great drivers have walked out from Mclaren so there seems to be something wrong there too.. I am hoping we will get to hear Alonso’s side of the story when he retires and decides to write a book about his F1 days..
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st September 2013, 22:11
@keithcollantine – We know Alonso isn’t stupid, so the idea that he could fundamentally misunderstand the way McLaren operated all on his own seems out of character. He had to get the idea from somewhere, which is why I think his being the favoured son at Renault skewed his perception of the way a team should be run.
It was either that, or some kind of implied promise was made by Ron Dennis, and Alonso being unfamiliar with the nuances if Ronspeak, did not realise what Ron had actually said.
anon
1st September 2013, 18:00
Briatore only ever ran a second car because he had to, and pretty much gave Alonso carte blanche to do as he liked. This probably left Alonso with some funny ideas about how a team is supposed to be run.
True. Trulli beat Alonso at Renault in 2004. This upset Alonso, Briatore had a lot riding on Alonso, Briatore invented/created a personality clash/dispute with Trulli and he was duly fired late in the season while leading Alonso in the championship.
oliveiraz33 (@oliveiraz33)
1st September 2013, 9:24
Tell me how “uncomplicated” is vettel that spits in his own team, doesn’t follow instructions and actualy creates a sort of very negative image for the brand to a lot of F1 fans (like me)… Vettel wants to win at any costs, runing over anything and anyone, and that alone could be very complicated, because Ricciardo is a young driver with very hight expectations for the future… So it could be explosive…
Ricciardo is a cool dude, that smiles a lot, but when he opens the mouth, he realy shouts and tells his stuff… Do you guys remember the start of the season How Ricciardo told about his relationship with vergne? and what he told when asked what he thought about Grosjean?
He’s not a PR puppet, and I like that on him… A cool guy that seems to say what’s in his mind, not what PR wants him to say (vettel cof cof vettel cof cof…)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
1st September 2013, 22:34
@oliveiraz33
Complete nonsense.
That says nothing about Vettel – that just says “I don’t like Vettel”. It reflects on you, not him.
David-A (@david-a)
1st September 2013, 22:49
That’s all it took for your post to stop being taken seriously. The very first line.
Robbie
3rd September 2013, 22:00
I believe Alonso was part of the MS/Ferrari era and learned that if you wanted to beat that elephant in the room you needed to be the one rooster on the team and have a teammate to not worry about so the team can concentrate on the rooster for the most part. So he got that treatment from Briatore (just as FB gave that treatment to MS at Benetton) and FA has felt it is necessary for ‘success’ ever since, even though he claimed all he was looking for at Mac was ‘equal’ treatment. I put the word ‘success’ in quotes because of my personal opinion that it may be a successful ‘team’ formula in F1 to have a non-competing teammate, but I think it robs we the viewing audience of racing in the pinnacle of racing, and therefore is less ‘successful’ for the audience.
trigger (@trigger)
1st September 2013, 9:59
Giving Ricciardo the seat makes it easy for red bull to give him equality because he will very rarely be anywhere nr Vettel. I have a feeling he will get Massa’d
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
1st September 2013, 11:49
@trigger I actually think he’ll fare pretty well, as I think he’s a better driver than many give him credit for. We’ll see though.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
1st September 2013, 11:14
Twaddle. Red Bull are very interested in proving the influence of their backing. In the now almost certain eventuality that Ricciardo joins Vettel there in 2014, Ricciardo would have come full circle, coming through the junior categories, into F1, and into the Red Bull seat all via courtesy of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme. The Young Driver Programme is the key here, because as I type it is experiencing a chronic backlog that threaten’s its very existence. If Red Bull ignore the queue of drivers in its Young Driver Programme by simply selecting Raikkonen, who is arguably the logical option, then what is the point of the Young Driver Programme? Why have there been open rumours flying around that Antonio Felix da Costa is certain for a Toro Rosso next year if Ricciardo is staying put? And is Raikkonen actually the logical option? OK, he is on of the four “superstars” on the grid, and he is apolitical and therefore highly unlikely to stoke up any of the inter-team tension currently rife in Red Bull, but he comes as the finished article, whereas Ricciardo could be moulded into the driver that Red Bull want. And is Red Bull the logical option for Raikkonen? The only thing that is 100% certain about F1 2014 is that the form guide will be different, and in an era where aerodynamic efficiency, the Red Bull’s key strength, is of lesser importance, what is the point of going to a highly intense commercial environment if there is no guarantee of having the best car? Assuming that Massa’s seat is on the market, Raikkonen would be well-advised to return to Ferrari and of the recent rumours I think an Alonso-Raikkonen partnership is one of the more feasible. There is no more debate, the deal is done, and I wish Red Bull could just end this speculation and pretense by announcing Ricciardo’s place in their 2014 team. Maybe at Monza?
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st September 2013, 14:37
Maybe RBR will announce that they will not be making an an announcement.
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
1st September 2013, 17:57
If you assume that the entire reason for the existence of the Red Bull young driver program is to create F1 champions then by definition it is doomed to failure. Of course, so are all the other young driver programs out there. McLaren’s young driver program has also produced just the one WDC winner.
I had thought that Ricciardo would get the Webber seat, but the longer this drags out the more likely it seems that Kimi could take it.
Robbie
3rd September 2013, 22:11
Who said young driver programs are meant to create Champions? Maybe they’re just there to create solid number 2’s for the teams’ roosters and if a WDC comes out of it that’s just gravy.
PMccarthy_is_a_legend (@pmccarthy_is_a_legend)
1st September 2013, 14:07
I am sure Ricciardo will have equal equipment at Red Bull just as Webber, for the vast majority of his Red Bull career, also had. But once Vettel starts thrashing Ricciardo, as he did with Webber, the team will naturally lean towards him. That’s not favouritism, thats simply how a racing team operates. If Ricciardo wants to have a say inside the team, he has got to start beating Vettel right from the start. Same as Hamilton did in his first season of F1. But I just don’t see it happening…
KiwiUK (@kiwiuk)
1st September 2013, 14:43
@keithcollantine Looks as though Sky are about to drop the Sky Sports F1 channel for HD subscribers ahead of the Italian grand prix. Now need Sky Sports subscription by the sounds of it https://twitter.com/f1broadcasting/status/374158743711121409
KiwiUK (@kiwiuk)
1st September 2013, 14:55
Scrap that, looks as though it will still be there for Italian grand prix per this link here though the fact that Sky have changed terms for new subscribers means I suspect the change to take effect by 2014 season at the latest.
tmekt (@tmekt)
1st September 2013, 18:45
I’d like to see Grosjean and Ricciardo in the same team. Toothpaste sponsors would come flying in.